Day 5: The Outing

      If you were to be asked about Genie themed horror films you'd probably answer with Wishmaster. Pre-dating Wishmaster by nearly a decade, The Outing has a similar premise and is more entertaining. But is that really saying a lot?

     Three completely over the top rednecks break into the home of an allegedly wealthy middle eastern woman. After discovering an antique lamp within the walls of her home, they unwittingly release an ancient evil Djinn. The lamp is donated to a museum where lead character, Alex's father works. Alex and her friends construct a plot to stay the night in the museum but soon come face to face the evil Djinn.

    Gore and creature effects are the highlight of this 80's cheese fest. That being said, most of the gore is aftermath. There are plenty of kills to go around and they are all pretty fun. But you'd think in a film where the villain is a magical entity that can basically do anything that all the kills could be incredibly imaginative. While the kills are all pretty good fun, I couldn't help but notice that I'd seen it all before. It's disappointing that the writer's couldn't come up with something a bit more creative.

    All the main characters are pretty vanilla except for Alex's ex boyfriend, Mike. This character is the definition of scum. He is so despicable that he's more unlikable than the main villain. By the films end he's compiled a list of vile acts: Trying to run Alex and her new boyfriend off the road, assaulting his ex girlfriend, pulling a knife on her new boyfriend, and raping one of her friends. Despite several run ins with police, he somehow manages to avoid incarceration until this Djinn shows him justice. Thank you Mike, for being a true villain.

    So is The Outing a bad movie? Not at all. But with a lethargic pace in the middle and kills that don't live up to the limitless potential, it treads the line of average. When, it comes to evil Genie movies though, to my knowledge there isn't anything better. The Outing can lay claim to being the greatest Evil Genie film.

    Bodycount: 12
Side Note: The tag line "Don't say see you later...Say Goodbye." has to go down as one of the most un-clever tag lines written. Okay, maybe not. But seriously?